Morrison Foerster

Our Survey Says

VAULT'S VERDICT:

Morrison Foerster hires from top national schools and reputable schools near its offices, seeking candidates who can clearly explain their reason for wanting to join the firm and live in the area with the hiring office. Successful candidates fit the firm’s laid-back and respectful culture. Attorneys and staff maintain an open-door policy, work collaboratively, and regularly connect through firm-sponsored social events, such as seasonal gatherings and group lunches. Partners willingly share insights about assignments, explaining why the work matters and how it connects to larger firm goals. Each new associate receives a designated associate and partner mentor, with a budget for mentoring activities. Practice groups hold topic-specific training, and firmwide learning and development programming provide access to additional training. Associates find work via a free market system. The firm requires 1,950 legal services hours, of which 1,800 hours must be client billable. Lockstep salaries match the market, and associates who meet the hour requirement earn a market bonus. MoFo also matches other firms’ special bonuses and rewards high performers with additional bonuses. Pro bono opportunities are flagged for associates, and time spent on pro bono counts toward the legal services hours requirement. Promotion to equity partnership is realistic, but challenging, and the firm offers an opt-in, confidential career placement service to help associates find exit opportunities in-house with clients or at government agencies. Notable perks include commuter benefits, a work-from-home setup, counseling services, and gym discounts.

FIRM'S PERSPECTIVE

MoFo is a destination law firm where ambitious lawyers do their best work. With more than 1,000 lawyers across 19 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia, we take on our clients’ most complex and consequential matters, and we develop the people who handle them.

Impact. We solve the hardest problems facing some of the world’s most innovative companies, from M&A and capital markets to high-stakes litigation, investigations, and intellectual property. Our values are backed by action: We invest time and resources in our clients, our communities, and society, including nearly 88,000 pro bono hours in 2025.

Innovation. We lead clients through every stage of innovation, and we’ve woven the AI tools transforming legal work into how we operate, putting them in your hands early. Whatever your role, you’ll have the training and resources to stay at the front edge and help shape what comes next.

 Investment. We don’t just hire talent; we invest in it. Through programs like MoFo Activate, MoFo Navigate, and MoFo Next, you’ll receive the training, mentoring, and support to excel, from people who know you and your work well enough to offer meaningful guidance.

 We’re a collaborative firm, and the lawyers who thrive here bring curiosity, ownership, and a genuine commitment to the work and to one another. Whether you’re a law student or an experienced lateral, we’d like to meet you.